“The next round in the fight for a more reliable, cost-effective,
transparent Department of Water and Power comes next week, when
the Los Angeles City Council is expected to consider Marcie
Edwards’ appointment as general manager of the huge municipal
utility.”

“First, Mr. President, thank you for coming to the San Joaquin
Valley. This is important to us, and to all Californians. There
is nothing like having leaders out in the field seeing things
for themselves.

“Mr. President, this is a multi-year problem that requires
multi-year solutions.”

From the San Francisco Chronicle Politics Blog, in a post
by Carolyn Lochhead:

“Under pressure from House Republicans to offer an alternative
plan to deal with California’s drought, California Sens. Barbara
Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, joined by Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and
Jeff Merkley, issued Democratic drought legislation Tuesday, in
prelude to President Obama’s visit to Fresno on Friday.”

“Friday’s announcement that the State Water Project –which
[Gov. Jerry] Brown’s father, Edmund (the first Gov. Brown),
brought into reality — would not deliver a drop of irrigation
water to farmers in the South San Joaquin Valley is a crisis.
…

“Undoubtedly, the first such pronouncement in the 54-year
history of the SWP is creating fear — even among those who
don’t live along the Valley’s west side where that water is
necessary for their livelihoods.”

“California has a plan — the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan — that
has brought together representatives of the competing interests
who recognize that they must work together to sustain one another
with limited supplies of water.

“J.Q. Brown, Sacramento’s public works director circa 1920, had a
bold vision, one that resonates to this day: Water lawns no more
than every other day, and install water meters. My predecessors
at The Bee denounced him.”

“Beleaguered and outnumbered, California Republicans think they
may have found a crucial ally — drought.

“Up and down the state’s increasingly dry Central Valley,
Republicans have pounded away at the argument that Democratic
policies — particularly environmental rules — are to blame for
the parched fields and dwindling reservoirs that threaten to
bankrupt farms and wipe out jobs.”

“With California in the midst of a drought, the responsibility
for action rests largely on the shoulders of U.S. Senator Dianne
Feinstein as she has a record of working in bipartisan fashion
and has been highly involved in water issues since her election
in 1992.”

“Gov. Jerry Brown has pursued two multibillion-dollar water and
high-speed rail projects so aggressively in recent months that it
loomed conspicuously how carefully he stepped to avoid the
projects in his biggest speech of the year.”

“America’s political executives – presidents, governors and big
city mayors – are often judged by how they respond to
unanticipated crises. …

“Jerry Brown knows the syndrome well. He had two major crises
during his first stint as governor 30-plus years ago, a severe
drought early in his governorship and an invasion of
Mediterranean fruit flies near the end.”